LONDON – The travails of House of Fraser serve as a reminder of the problems facing United Kingdom retail, IG said.

The spread-betting firm says the department store’s slip into administration and subsequent takeover by Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley show the scale of the challenges posed to UK high street retailers by the rise of internet shopping, the lackluster UK economy and other issues.

“The sole winner this morning appears to be Debenhams, lifted by around 2 percent on hopes of a combination with House of Fraser,” says IG’s Chris Beauchamp. “But without root and branch reform, such a combination merely postpones the inevitable.”